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• Rebecca's next question 16 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  It's mainly used for the school/work run and the occasional trip to the Cotswolds. It's been to the south of France once. But - at the end of the day I am a girl after all and maybe I should just think of it as a means of getting from A to B and 'downgrade' to a different car to save on the tax bill (40%) So any thoughts about what I might replace it with?
• Zafira 16 Sep 2002 (Forum)
  I must say here that we use it for two things: daily school runs & shopping, and long haul trips to the south of France. As a result the clock show 28K Miles. I must say that I am very happy with it (handling, etc...). But... As I started hearing a whining noise I took it immediatly to the dealer for checking (that is, after coming back from Paris, with a detour in Brittany, a mere 0.5K Miles..).
• Premium unleaded 7 Sep 2001 (Forum)
  After that it falls off lowest about 32mpg speeds over 125-155. One of Motorcyle mags had less than 30 in France on a looney trip. Bill
• Supercharged Harley 8 May 2007 (Forum)
  To be fair though, our guest rider had fitted aftermarket plug caps replete with LEDs triggered by the firing pulse, and it was one of these at fault!! Still a good day out though, and roll on France next month.
• MGRV8, XJS Convertible or TVR Chimera - MGRV8, XJS Convertible or TVR Chimera? 5 May 2025 (Forum)
  I live on the South Coast and am looking for a car to do my usual 1hr commute to Brighton 3 days a week (about an hour). But will also take the car down to France from time to time. I love the looks of the MG, but realise it’s not the biggest. The Jag would be great for motorway cruising and is probably the sensible option, as well a classy looker. But I can’t get past the fun I had while test driving the TVR, but will this be short lived?
• Automatic Family Car 21 Apr 2024 (Forum)
  Ideally I'm looking for an automatic (bad knees), that has plenty of space and can handle reasonable long journeys a couple times a month - currently I do about 11k miles a year, which is a mix of commuting on a motorway a couple times a week, and visiting family a few hours away. We also semi-regularly drive to places in the UK and France, and so something that can handle carting around child paraphernalia and luggage would be ideal. Realistically I don't want to spend more than 15k, especially with the baby guaranteed to up costs.
• ANY - Electric vs ICE cars - why not use a bicycle? 19 Mar 2019 (Forum)
  In reality, the 'well to wheel' carbon footrpint of the electric car is still around 60% of the typical ICE equivalent - because in UK, Germany and many other EU countries a large amount of fossil fuel is burnt to generate the electricity. So unless you charge your EV in France or Sweden - or pay out £8000 for a full 4KW SOLAR PANEL ARRAY on your rooftop you are not really saving the planet. Are we all being hood winked and bullied into buying electric cars - maybe we should consider  truly lightweight electric vehicles instead?
• Any - Scrappage - French style 11 Jan 2018 (Forum)
  Your old car (or van) must have been registered before 1997 for petrol vehicles and before 2001 for diesel vehicles … so if introduced in UK probably wouldn’t take too many BR readers' cars off the road! The trade-in vehicle must be registered in France, and have been owned for at least one year. The amount you might be paid varies depending on the household’s financial situation, with up to €1,000 available for taxed households and €2,000 for those that do not pay tax … not an irresistible incentive I imagine.
• Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0 Diesel 2004/5 - Intermittent Fault - black smoke and loss of power 20 Aug 2015 (Forum)
  However come off the motorway and try to get up and down steeper hills, and it really struggles. My local garage (here in France, and NOT a Hyundai dealer), did a diagnostic test and identified a "problem" with the Air Mass Sensor - so we replaced it. All was well for a couple of weeks then the problem came back. Garage said new diagnostics test showed "No Faults".
• Skoda Superb Estate, VW Passat Estate, - Diesel or Petrol Estate/MPV 14 Dec 2012 (Forum)
  Daily commute is 26 miles round trip most of which is dual carriageway/motorway. Plus, annual holiday invovles trips to sourthern france, so round trip of 3000 miles. Not sure about diesel or petrol. Have 2010 Fabia 1.2 TSi to trade in, very disapointed with fuel economy. Also , have a 1999 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDi, which regularly achives 45mpg in town on short trips and 60mpg+ on motorway and still going well at 162K+ miles and so will be keeping this.
• Nissan Primera II (1996 - 1999) - 97 2.0 What will eventually happen to the UJ? 4 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  Hello My wife and I live in France and we are very poor financialy. To cut a long story short we have been running our old nissan with a defective UJ for nearly 2 years. Before he moved back to the UK I asked him what would eventualy happen, he said it would get noisy and to avoid full lock.
• Can you claim against own spouse for accident? 9 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  Apologies for the vague details so far but I am intrigued by the following: My friends had an accident in France in summer. A car side swiped them on autoroute, their car somersaulted, hospitalised, holiday ruined etc. They gave statements to the police and insurance companies, as did other witnesses who stopped to this effect but all reports are now in and police have been unable to trace other driver, no CCTV etc so is going to have to go down as a claim against his own insurance.
• Citroen BX (1983 - 1993) - 1987 Turbo Diesel - Flat battery 7 Apr 2008 (Forum)
  Hi all, I am currently living in France, and still hanging onto my old (1987) Citroen BX Turbo Diesel. Living in the Alps, but it usually performs remarkably well in the cold. This is the second time though this year that we've had a flat battery, first was probably due to extreme cold and that we hadn't given the car a good run for a while.
• Many UK bus drivers don't speak English! 26 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  I have been to many European countries, in Holland, Denmark, Sweden, majority of bus drivers understand English. In France, Spain, Switzerland mostly not. But how come in UK, drivers don't speak English???
• What Sat Nav? Advice appreciated 7 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  I want to be able to: 1, Type in postcode onto the screen and then be directed to my destination. 2, Transfer the unit from one car to another as we may share it in the office for journeys to customers we have not visited before (unless they are really cheap). 3, It needs to do mainland Europe pretty well (France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland) - I managed to take the wrong route roung Brussels 3 times yesterday. 4, Do they charge from a 12V socket in the car or are they just rechargeable-at-home AA batteries?
• Education worth more than money? 30 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  It's Monday again and Saturday's Telegraph has reach rural France. I read, with increasing disbelief, a letter to HJ from the owner of a Porsche Boxster that had very obviously suffered a failed head gasket yet the guy - whose choice of words shows clearly he has no technical knowledge - had gone on driving it with 'plumes of white smoke' pouring out, then taken it to a track day and totalled the engine!
• UK Car abroad more or less permantly 23 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  3)Are there any countries where their equivalent to the MOT is accepted by the authorities in the UK? I see many ads for UK registered cars (on ebay for example) which are in Spain or France- do their owners really drive them back to the UK several times per year or is there another solution? Thanks in anticpation
• Fast cars - why bother? 8 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  Most of the time we suffer from a 30mph dawdle along congested routes; and when the roads free up there seem to be cameras all over the place. Even in France the Police seem to be getting stricter on speeding. Maybe this is a good thing but it seems to make fast cars a bit pointless.
• Proper European Cover 6 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  I live in the UK but for the next 12 months I will be spending at least 50% of my time on the continent - in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, etc). My insurance is up for renewal and I want a policy that will cover me while in Europe *at the same level* as I am covered in the UK, i.e. TPFT. Also, I'd rather not have to phone my insurers every time I go away/come back, as my trips are rather frequent.
• Mitsubishi parts & pricing 15 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  Is this a 'Made in Japan' filter flown over from Tokyo with its own seat and in-flight entertainment on a B-747? No. Open the Mitsi-branded box and on the filter inside it says 'Purflux - Made in France'. 3. Even worse was to come when I asked for a new alternator belt. Nearly £45 for just a belt!! In the past I helped someone source a Mitsubishi idle valve (a common failure point) from Australia for about £100, when the UK dealer wanted over £400.